Kurt Warner carries himself like a star without the ego, a commanding presence without the attitude. He certainly looks the part, acts the part. He is unfailingly accommodating, respectful, cheerful, and flashes a smile that could light up a big-city block.

Warner’s got everything required of a franchise quarterback. Now all he has to do is prove he still is one.

Rarely has a player of such renown started a season on the clock as surely as Warner is as he embarks on his Giants career. Tomorrow afternoon, when the Giants open their season against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, he takes over a job Kerry Collins handled so competently that the veterans around him wondered why he needed to be replaced.

That’s the past. The future is Eli Manning, making the present Warner’s time. He believes it can be the time of his life.

“I feel like I haven’t lost anything,” Warner said. “Am I capable of doing everything I’ve done in the past? There’s no question in my mind. It’s just a matter of getting into that comfort zone within the offense so I can do that, I can just let loose and play. The games are going to be the greatest test of that, where I’m at, where I need to go.”

The first test comes in Philadelphia, where the Eagles would like nothing better than to blitz Warner into submission, much like the Giants did to Warner and the Rams one year ago. Warner hasn’t started since, making this another new chapter for a player whose ascension (two MVP awards, two Super Bowls) was the stuff of legend. The fall was nearly as dramatic. He hasn’t won a game since Jan. 27, 2002 (the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles), losing eight straight. Now comes what Warner said will be a rise, although there are many skeptics who envision Manning on the field sooner rather than later.

Warner is too busy thinking great thoughts to worry about who might be gaining on him.

“What other goal is there?” he said. “I’ve never come into a season saying, well, I hope we win six games, I hope we win eight games. I want to win a championship, bottom line. We have talent, we have the capabilities. That’s my mindset. My expectations aren’t to be average. My expectation is to be great.”

It has been a whirlwind since June 2, when Warner, 33, signed with the Giants the day after he was released by the Rams. There was a brand-new offense to learn and unfamiliar teammates to meet. His competition with Manning was real and rough.

“He has studied to the extent where if there’s a word out of place or a letter out of place he will ask about it,” Tom Coughlin said. “He is an outstanding leader, he is serious about his work, players have responded to him.”

Open for business

Kurt Warner started five consecutive opening-day games for the Rams and threw for at least 300 yards in each, going 3-2. Here’s a look at those games: